Steelers have killed Jones’ confidence, lower expectations

For as happy as Pittsburgh Steelers fans might be about the team’s 2-0 start, a few concerning trends exist.

The offense doesn’t score, the team is committing too many penalties and offensive tackle Broderick Jones is a mess.

Even with questions existing over who should play quarterback despite two wins to start the season, Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLive is most concerned about Jones.

With good reason. Last year’s first-round pick was removed from the starting lineup in advance of Sunday’s 13-6 win in Denver. Rookie Troy Fautanu got the start at right tackle instead, and Dan Moore was allowed to remain the starting left tackle. As a result, Jones was put on the bench.

The Steelers gave Jones a series at right tackle early in the game. He ended up committing three penalties and was pulled before the drive was over. One of those penalties erased a 51-yard pass from Justin Fields to George Pickens.

“They have successfully taught him how to be a backup. They have killed his confidence and lowered his expectations,” Madden said during this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast. “They’ve rotated him from position to position in practice, given the impression that might happen in games, they have turned him into a backup. It’s what the Penguins did with (Alexei) Morozov and what the Pirates have done with (Henry) Davis. They drafted a guy high in the draft with pedigree and mangled his development. All that for Dan Moore.”

To that last point, it’s Madden’s belief — and one that I’ve expressed many times in the past as well — that the Steelers would’ve been better served entering training camp with Fautanu on the right side and Jones on the left side. But, for some reason, the club won’t get away from playing Moore even though they seemingly drafted a potential replacement for him twice in the first round in back-to-back years.

“I don’t have a problem with fast-tracking Fautanu,” Madden said. “I just think that you shouldn’t do it at the expense of a guy you drafted in the first round the prior year that has more pedigree, and you traded up to get. Mike Tomlin just wants to play Dan Moore because it’s important to be right about Dan Moore. That’s the only reason. He should be on the bench. He’s being rewarded because he can’t play right tackle. Broderick Jones is being punished for his versatility.”

That’s an important angle to remember in this discussion. Moore can’t play right tackle. Therefore, essentially, he starts or doesn’t play.

Because Jones is capable of playing both sides, they put him on the bench, moved Fautanu from his natural position on the left side, and put Jones on the right side.

Some Steelers fans and guardians of the team in the media have started a narrative that Jones deserves the benching because he didn’t come into training camp motivated enough after having a good start to his career as a rookie by breaking into the starting lineup midway through 2023.

“Absolute nonsense,” Madden declared. “That’s one thing that makes this team so hard to cover and talk about. I don’t care who hears me say it. The vast majority of people who cover this team stooge for the team and for Tomlin, shamelessly.”

I’ve seen no evidence of Jones going into cruise control either. Personally, I think he is still playing injured after damaging an elbow in training camp, and he is struggling with technique after bouncing back and forth between the left and right side.

Period.